London Borough of Lambeth

Lambeth ( ) is a London borough in South London, England, which forms part of Inner London. Its name was recorded in 1062 as Lambehitha ("landing place for lambs") and in 1255 as Lambeth. The geographical centre of London is at Frazier Street near Lambeth North tube station, though nearby Charing Cross on the other side of the Thames in the City of Westminster is traditionally considered the centre of London.

History

The area of the modern borough had historically been part of the county of Surrey, and generally corresponds to the three ancient parishes of Lambeth, Clapham and Streatham.

The parish of Lambeth included the archiepiscopal Lambeth Palace, and formed part of the Hundred of Brixton. It was an elongated north–south parish with two miles (three kilometres) of River Thames frontage opposite the cities of London and Westminster. Lambeth became part of the Metropolitan Police District in 1829.

From 1856 the area of the modern borough was governed by the Metropolitan Board of Works, which was established to provide services across the metropolis of London. In 1889 the Metropolitan Board of Works' area was made the County of London. From 1856 until 1900 the lower tier of local government within the metropolis comprised various parish vestries and district boards; the parish of Lambeth was governed by its vestry, whilst Clapham and Streatham were both included in the Wandsworth District. In 1900 the lower tier was reorganised into metropolitan boroughs. The parish of Lambeth became the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth, and the old Wandsworth District became the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth.

The modern London borough was created in 1965 under the London Government Act 1963. It was a merger of the old borough of Lambeth and the Clapham and Streatham areas from the old Wandsworth borough.

When the government was drafting the boundaries for the London boroughs in the early 1960s, it initially suggested that the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and the Metropolitan Borough of Southwark be merged into a new borough; the southern and eastern sections of the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth (including Clapham, Streatham and Tooting) would form another. South Shields town clerk R.S. Young was commissioned to make final recommendations to the government on the shape of the future London boroughs, and he noted that the Wandsworth council opposed the partition of its borough. However, Wandsworth's suggestion to merge Lambeth with the Metropolitan Borough of Battersea was rejected by both councils involved. Young believed that residents of Clapham and Streatham would be more familiar with Brixton than with Wandsworth, and recommended a new borough formed from the Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and six wards and portions of two others from the Metropolitan Borough of Wandsworth.

In the 2016 European Union referendum, Lambeth had the highest share of Remain votes in the United Kingdom at 78.62%, second to overseas territory Gibraltar's 95.9%.

Geography

Lambeth is a long, thin borough, about three miles (five kilometres) wide and seven miles (eleven kilometres) long. Brixton is its civic centre, and there are other town centres. The largest shopping areas are (in order of size) Streatham, Brixton, Vauxhall, Clapham and West Norwood.

In the northern part of the borough are the central London districts of the South Bank, Vauxhall and Lambeth; in the south are the suburbs of Gipsy Hill, Streatham, West Dulwich and West Norwood. In between are the developed and inner-city districts of Brixton, Brixton Hill, Streatham Hill, Clapham, Clapham Park, Herne Hill, Stockwell, Tulse Hill and Kennington, each at different stages of gentrification with suburban and urban elements. Vauxhall and South Lambeth are central districts in the process of redevelopment with high-density business and residential property. Streatham lies between suburban London and inner-city Brixton, with the suburban and developed areas of Streatham, Streatham Hill and Streatham Vale.

The London Borough of Southwark lies to the east of the Borough of Lambeth. To the west is the London Borough of Wandsworth; to the south-west is the London Borough of Merton; and to the south is the London Borough of Croydon.

Parks and green space

Lambeth's open spaces include Brockwell Park and Lido, Streatham Common, half of Clapham Common, West Norwood Cemetery, Archbishop's Park, Norbury Park, Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens and Ruskin Larkhall and Kennington Parks.

Landmarks

Along and around the South Bank, a tourist area has developed around the former Greater London Council headquarters of County Hall and the Southbank Centre and National Theatre. Also on the river is the London Eye and Shell Centre. Nearby is St Thomas' Hospital, Lambeth Palace and the Florence Nightingale Museum. Nearby is Brixton, home of Lambeth Town Hall and the Brixton Murals.

Landmark church buildings include:

• St Mary's, Lambeth (now the Garden Museum)
• The four "Waterloo Churches" in the former Lambeth Parish:
  • St Matthew's, Brixton
  • St Mark's, Kennington
  • St Luke's, West Norwood
  • St John's, Waterloo
• Holy Trinity, Clapham
• St Leonard's, Streatham
• Christ Church, Streatham Hill
• Christ Church (Church of England), Brixton Road, North Brixton
• All Saints' Church, West Dulwich (Church of England)
• Holy Trinity, Trinity Rise, Tulse Hill
• St John the Divine (Church of England), Vassall Road

The Oval cricket ground in Kennington is the home of Surrey County Cricket.

The Basaveshwara statue at the Albert Embankment erected by the former Mayor of Lambeth Neeraj Patil was unveiled by the Prime Minister of India on 14 November 2015.

Governance

The local authority is Lambeth Council, which meets at Lambeth Town Hall in the Brixton area of the borough and has its main offices at the nearby Civic Centre.

Greater London representation

Since 2000, for elections to the London Assembly, the borough forms part of the Lambeth and Southwark constituency.

Westminster Parliament

The borough has three Parliamentary constituencies: Dulwich and West Norwood (shared with Southwark), Streatham, and Vauxhall.

Demography

Ethnicity

Language

Religion

Sexuality

Lambeth is the local authority with the highest relative gay or lesbian population in the UK, at 5.5%, with the borough containing the gay village of Vauxhall and the area around Clapham Common.

Arts

• South London Theatre, a community theatre in West Norwood
• National Theatre
• Southbank Centre
• Old Vic Theatre
• Young Vic Theatre
• Ballet Rambert
• British Film Institute
• Black Cultural Archives
• Beconsfield
• Gasworks Gallery
• Newport Street Gallery
• Ovalhouse theatre
• Cinema Museum

Transport

The borough covers London Waterloo railway station, the Waterloo tube station network and (until 2007) the London terminus for Eurostar. National Rail service in Lambeth is provided by South Western Railway, Southeastern, Southern, Thameslink and London Overground.

Bridges and tunnels

• Waterloo Bridge, incorporating the National Film Theatre
• Hungerford Bridge and Golden Jubilee Bridges
• Lambeth Bridge
• Westminster Bridge
• Vauxhall Bridge

Railway stations

• Brixton
• Gipsy Hill
• Herne Hill
• Loughborough Junction
• Streatham
• Streatham Common
• Streatham Hill
• Tulse Hill
• Vauxhall
• Waterloo
• Waterloo East
• West Norwood

London Overground stations

• Clapham High Street
• Wandsworth Road

Tube stations

• Brixton
• Clapham Common
• Clapham North
• Lambeth North
• Nine Elms
• Oval
• Stockwell
• Vauxhall
• Waterloo

Commuting

In March 2011, the primary forms of transport borough residents used to travel to work were the London Underground, metro, light rail or tram (21.4 percent of residents aged 16–74); bus, minibus or coach (10 percent); train (10 percent); automobile (8.6 percent); bicycle (5.7 percent), or walking (5.4 percent). A small percentage (3.2 percent) worked mainly at—or from—home.

Twinning

The former Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth and its successor have been twinned with the Vincennes district of Paris in France since 1955. Lambeth is also twinned with Bluefields, Nicaragua; Brooklyn, New York; and Spanish Town, Jamaica.

Coat of arms

The borough's coat of arms is that of the former Metropolitan Borough of Lambeth, with two gold stars (mullets) in the second and third quarters of the shield indicating the addition of the districts of Clapham and Streatham. Its motto is "Spectemur agendo" ("Let us be judged according to our conduct").

See also

• Lambeth London Borough Council
• List of districts in Lambeth
• List of schools in Lambeth

References

External links

• Lambeth.gov.uk London Borough of Lambeth Official Website
• electionmemory.com Independent Lambeth Council Elections Forum
• General information on Lambeth parks and green spaces
• Community Police Consultative Group for Lambeth Independent forum for community and statutory agencies to address community safety and policing issues.